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Ohio State Football: Assessing the team through four games

By Frank Teriaca

Sep 23, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord (6) makes a throw to Emeka Egbuka (2) against Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the last drive of the game during the fourth quarter of their game at Notre Dame Stadium.
Sep 23, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord (6) makes a throw to Emeka Egbuka (2) against Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the last drive of the game during the fourth quarter of their game at Notre Dame Stadium. /
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The Ohio State football team is 4-0 after its thrilling last-second win over Notre Dame last Saturday night. Let’s pause and assess where this team stands.

The Ohio State football team has done what it needed to do through four games. It has won every time they stepped out onto the field, including over a top-10 opponent last weekend on the road at Notre Dame.

While the Buckeyes have impressed in certain aspects of the game, they have lacked in other areas. Now that we are four games into the season, and the bulk of the schedule is still in front of them, let’s pause and assess where this team stands a quarter of the way into the schedule.

Strengths: QB, WR, Secondary, Linebacker

Quarterback: The Ohio State football team should be very happy with the play of its quarterback. Kyle McCord grew up in front of our eyes on the final 15-play drive with 90 seconds left to play in South Bend. Completing crucial third and fourth down conversions, McCord proved that his poise could not be shaken in a hostile environment. That is a very good indication that this QB is going to be special, especially when the Buckeyes travel to Ann Arbor at the end of November.

Wide Receiver: Another strength of this team is obviously its receiver corps. Emeka Egbuka had the game of his life against Notre Dame and even though he dropped what would have been a tough touchdown catch, he rebounded and was instrumental for the Buckeyes the entire game. Marvin Harrison Jr. is still the best receiver in college football and Julian Fleming has been great when called upon.

Secondary: This is the best secondary we’ve seen since 2019. The safeties led by Lathan Ransom and Sonny Styles have been outstanding in both pass coverage and against the run. Denzel Burke has proven to be a true lockdown corner through four games and the addition of David Igbinosun has been crucial to the secondary’s overall success. Putting Jordan Hancock in the slot has been a great move by Jim Knowles as he’s played great there.

Linebacker: The linebacker unit has really flourished this season and I believe has even taken a step above where they were a year ago now that James Laurinaitis is involved in the room. Tommy Eichenberg has been as advertised and Steele Chambers has been a hammer at weakside linebacker. Cody Simon even showed up big in his 18 snaps against the Fighting Irish. Overall, this room has played extremely well through four games.

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